Now, Facebook has reiterated that conversation surrounding the humble loaf has had social media in a buzz.

Given the size and scope of its platform, it claimed the topics that commandeered most of the conversation over the past year are demonstrative of trends on the cusp of going mainstream.

‘These are the trends that people have been talking about, that the market is ready for and that can help inform [a producer’s] choices around marketing campaigns, creative strategy and product development.’

“Bread has gotten a bad rap. For years, many diets put the popular carb on forbidden lists. But the health conscious tides may be turning,” ​said Lucie Greene, global director at The Innovation Group at J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, which contributed to the report.

“Food start-ups are innovating bread with processes like ‘slow carb baking,’ or slow natural fermenting, which creates breads with lower glycemic indexes (GI). In the process, they are also creating loaves with increased bioavailability of nutrients.​

“We also see interest in baking overall growing as, for example, conversation about crust is on the rise,”​ said Greene – a statement we can confirm following the tremendous response our Crust of the matter article invoked.

However, the social media giant said food topics also popped up outside of cuisine discussions, as people took new interest in the health and wellness benefits of some ingredients.

“Wellness is becoming an increasingly important part of people’s daily lives – one that they are willing to spend money on,”​ said Scott Lachut, partner and president of Research and Strategy at PSFK, noting that consumers – especially Millennials – are placing great value on experiences more than objects.

“The trend happens as people’s attitude towards nutrition and wellness becomes more evolved and sophisticated. In the face of dietary concerns, this is an example of a previously ‘unhealthy’ food category being reinvented by rethinking the process, returning to natural and traditional techniques over mass production,”​ added Greene.